Looking up at the enchanting dome that sits above Louvre Abu Dhabi might be my favourite view in the city. During the day, the light pierces its intricate cutwork, scattering sporadically to gently decorate the intentionally blank canvas below. As night falls, the dome comes alive with thousands of inviting lights imitating the stars above. Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel\u2019s \u201cmuseum city\u201d is designed to evoke wonder in all states \u2013 it\u2019s a permanent work of art in itself.<\/p>\n
For me, though, there is something about the night-time. The dome\u2019s glow projects a certain magic, and seeing this up close while bobbing silently on the calm, glassy waters that surround the structure induces a new kind of awe.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve joined about 30 people to try a newly launched experience in the capital that offers the chance to kayak in the waters around the Louvre at night. Watersports company Sea Hawk has been offering daytime kayak trips for a few months now, but the night excursions have been launched especially for the summer.<\/p>\n
It might be just after 8.30pm, but there\u2019s no two ways about it: it\u2019s hot. And the occasional splash of bath-warm water from the end of the paddle does little to cool us down. Logistically, kayaking in a relatively small space with a large group of people takes a bit of manoeuvring, and there\u2019s some hanging around and several bumper-car moments as we wait for everyone to board their floats.<\/p>\n
There are single and double kayaks on offer, depending on whether you fancy exploring alone or as a pair. Unsure of my ability to navigate some of the smaller spaces around the Louvre solo, I convince my colleague Sarah \u2013 a far superior boatman \u2013 to take the helm in our two-person vessel. After about 15 minutes, we follow our guide to the first viewpoint at the back of the museum. The night tours run twice a month, to coincide with the full moon, and as we slow and turn to look back, a looming, red moon rises from behind the Louvre\u2019s dome. Right on cue.<\/p>\n
We stop to hear our guide tell us how this building, which seems to float alongside us on the inky Arabian Gulf, was 10 years in the making \u2013 but I am only half listening. Beyond this great structure, the lights of Abu Dhabi twinkle in the distance, and save for the enthusiastic narration of our guide, I realise we are in complete silence out here on the edge of Saadiyat Island. It\u2019s a whole new perspective on the UAE\u2019s capital.<\/p>\n
We carry on around the outside of the museum, close enough to its smooth ivory edges to appreciate what an engineering feat this building truly is. And as we turn the corner, we are directed to kayak along a narrow canal into the heart of the museum, the day\u2019s straggling visitors staring at us from the windows above as we do. Here, we are told more about the Louvre\u2019s triumphant dome. It might look delicate, light and intricate from the ground, almost like a balanced basket top, but we\u2019re told this structure weighs 7,500 tonnes \u2013 that\u2019s 200 more than the Eiffel Tower.<\/p>\n
We weave through narrow passages and under bridges \u2013 something we are told the previous night\u2019s group were unable to do because of high water levels \u2013 before arriving at the museum\u2019s heart. We are directly underneath the dome, heading towards the steps that lead from the atrium to the water. Here, we are left to float, marvel and take it all in, enjoying a peaceful moment interrupted only by the sound of birdsong coming from the dome above.<\/p>\n
I ask our guide about this noise, surprised to hear such a chorus at this time in the evening. \u201cSome of it is real, but some of it is a recording,\u201d he admits. The tangle of spaces within the dome would make perfect nesting spots for birds, he says, although it would likely cause damage to the building. Still, the recordings create an enchanting illusion as they echo around the otherwise silent space.<\/p>\n
An hour is over in a flash and we are back at our start point, needing to disembark before the next of the evening\u2019s tours. We may not have entered Louvre Abu Dhabi, but the night was a work of art in itself.<\/p>\n
The National<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Looking up at the enchanting dome that sits above Louvre Abu Dhabi might be my favourite view in the city. During the day, the light pierces its intricate cutwork, scattering sporadically to gently decorate the intentionally blank canvas below. As night falls, the dome comes alive with thousands of inviting lights imitating the stars above. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10909,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10905"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10905\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10910,"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10905\/revisions\/10910"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}